If you look at the dial you’ll notice that isn’t quite centered. The time display is oriented to the left just a bit. No obvious reason for this aside from it being a quirk, though it is entirely possible something about the mechanical movement architecture dictates this need. The far right of the dial is reserved for the Armin Strom nameplate which is physically screwed to the dial.
Before discussing the movement as a whole, I’d like to point out the rear decoration of the movement visible through the rear sapphire crystal case back window. Armin Strom has a rather impressive in-house movement decoration department and you can see a taste of it here. Because this is the Gravity Fire model there is a hand-engraved flame motif on much of the movement baseplate.
Inside the Gravity Fire is the Armin Strom caliber AMR13 automatic movement. It has a power reserve of five days and uses a really cool micro-rotor to wind the movement. The micro-rotor is in solid gold placed under the mainspring barrel and is partially visible through the skeletonized dial. In fact, the movement view is perhaps the most impressive part of the watch.
The dial displays the time with subsidiary seconds and is rather legible with highly-visible lumed hands. The movement does however operate at a rather slow frequency of 18,000 bph. Slowing it down is probably how the watch has five days of power reserve with a single barrel. A similar movement is the ARM09 that has a week of power reserve between two barrels – though it is manually wound. The One Week collection has pieces virtually identical to the Gravity, but with the different movements. So if you prefer a slightly longer power reserve (with indicator dial) in a manually wound versus automatic watch there is the Armin Strom One Week Fire as well as the Gravity Fire. For me, I prefer the convenience of automatic movements so I’ll stick with the Gravity.
Attached to the case is a really handsome hornback crocodile strap that comes in a range of colors depending on the Gravity model. Thick and rich with texture, it makes for a great complement to the watch. The Armin Strom Gravity Fire watch is limited to 100 pieces and the retail price is $27,400. arminstrom.com
